PORTSMOUTH defender Linvoy Primus has welcomed the signing of Finnish international Petri Pasanen even though it may cost him his Premiership place against Aston Villa today.

PORTSMOUTH defender Linvoy Primus has welcomed the signing of Finnish international Petri Pasanen even though it may cost him his Premiership place against Aston Villa today.

Primus made his Premiership debut before Christmas at the age of 30 and is now holding down a regular place in Harry Redknapp's injury-hit squad.

Pasanen, 23, arrived at Fratton Park from Dutch giants Ajax until the end of the season.

The defender said, "I welcome the competition for places, particularly with a squad as small as ours.

"The better players the manager has at his disposal the better the team will be. If everyone stays fit then we can take on anyone."

He added, "Beating Blackpool in the FA Cup has given everyone a lift and we need to take that into our league form, starting at Villa Park.

"We realised after we had beaten Tottenham that we needed to stick together more. If we do that, we may not get the results but we should get the performances and that is going to be so important over the season.

"Staying in the Premiership is all about hard work and if we keep working for each other the wins will come."